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Must Watch Movies
32
items Movies the average person must watch at some point in their life. I consider this list to be one mixed with many genres, but at least one critical takeaway that can and should be talked about for years, if not decades to come. Peoples, specifically i...
Sections
10
Christmas
Comedy
Drama
Fantasy
Horror and Halloween
Marvel
Christmas
Classic Christmas movies that bring all kinds of holiday cheer
If there was ever a needed and wholesome Christmas watch, this is a great choice. Shown in theaters in 2003, Love Actually came out at a perfect time. The War on Terrorism began to ramp up and made a lot of people paranoid, upset and enraged. A movie...
Love Actually excels where many holiday romance movies fail: it stays grounded in reality by showing different couples and situations where people can fall or are in love. Every couple experiences their romantic feelings, expectations and chances dif...
Love Actually excels where many holiday romance movies fail: it stays grounded in reality by showing different couples and situations where people can fall or are in love. Every couple experiences their romantic feelings, expectations and chances dif...
Love Actually (2003)
Comedy
A genre of dramatic works that intend to be comedic, humorous and/or amusing.
The debut movie from Justin Simien was an instant home run the minute the first preview hit in 2014. Bigger names Tessa Thompson and Tyler James Williams star in a movie where incoming black students at an Ivy League college learn how to adapt quickl...
Dear White People (2014)
Goodness gracious, what a movie. If anyone who hasn't seen this wondered what comedy, life and teenagers were like in the early to mid-2000s, this movie is a pretty damn good starting point. Based in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Lindsay Lohan's C...
Mean Girls (2004)
Audiences are familiar with obsessed and weird Count Dracula can get, but fewer pay attention or care about his assistant Renfield. After taking orders and abuse for centuries from the blood-thirsty Count, Renfield decides it's time to dip, get some ...
Renfield is a refreshing take on a forgotten character many see as a tool and nothing else. However, he's anything but forgettable. Nicholas Hoult balances sharp minded with dark humor and mental instability while trying to push forward. Although the...
Renfield is a refreshing take on a forgotten character many see as a tool and nothing else. However, he's anything but forgettable. Nicholas Hoult balances sharp minded with dark humor and mental instability while trying to push forward. Although the...
Renfield (2023)
I'd always wanted to see this movie since I was a kid back in 2005 and sadly missed out until it appeared on Hulu. Had to give it a watch and MAN, it did not disappoint. Based off of the BBC radio series back in the 1950s and 60s, the movie is a hila...
This movie is in the comedy section because of satirical attempts and takes on how serious most sci-fi is…and how crazy the genre is. British humor from start to finish, the movie sucker punches the core themes, storyline and comedy into the audience...
This movie is in the comedy section because of satirical attempts and takes on how serious most sci-fi is…and how crazy the genre is. British humor from start to finish, the movie sucker punches the core themes, storyline and comedy into the audience...
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Drama
The genre of narrative fiction intended to be more serious than humorous in tone
Despite the old release date, very few movies will have as effective a portrayal from the U.S. Civil War period like Glory does. Released in 1989, Glory follows a critical point in the second year of the war where the Union needs better officers, sol...
Throughout Glory, racism within the Union army, real news stories and their reactions (such as to the Emancipation Proclamation) and gradual build-up of the regiments deserve both the respect and appreciation many historians overlooked. The all-black...
I do advise caution for anyone watching this scene to NOT have children around at sensitive, gory moments. Glory's beginning is very traumatic and disturbing with the portrayed battle moments shown at Antietam. The opening carnage is some of the wors...
Throughout Glory, racism within the Union army, real news stories and their reactions (such as to the Emancipation Proclamation) and gradual build-up of the regiments deserve both the respect and appreciation many historians overlooked. The all-black...
I do advise caution for anyone watching this scene to NOT have children around at sensitive, gory moments. Glory's beginning is very traumatic and disturbing with the portrayed battle moments shown at Antietam. The opening carnage is some of the wors...
Glory (1989)
It's very hard to find a biopic on a lot of black Americans that comes anywhere close to accurate. Early 1990s Spike Lee does a mostly excellent job pulling off the unthinkable: an almost three and a half hour movie about the U.S.' most controversial...
Lee does almost any and everything for this movie. He inserts himself as a wild side-character. He added famous black celebrities and figures, (famous both then/now). He has one of the most powerful endings, hammering home how important Malcolm is to...
Spike Lee's errors and the serious removals aside, Malcolm X is still a fantastic film. It's best for those who want to be introduced to the historical figure, his views and those who want to get lost in a long historical drama. Those now deceased wh...
Lee does almost any and everything for this movie. He inserts himself as a wild side-character. He added famous black celebrities and figures, (famous both then/now). He has one of the most powerful endings, hammering home how important Malcolm is to...
Spike Lee's errors and the serious removals aside, Malcolm X is still a fantastic film. It's best for those who want to be introduced to the historical figure, his views and those who want to get lost in a long historical drama. Those now deceased wh...
Malcolm X (1992)
A special movie made during the COVID days. In real life, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Malcolm X and Sam Cooke all hung out for one night in Miami. To this day, many have no idea what the interaction was like. Yet, Regina King does an excellent job pieci...
Of the four characters, Kingsley Ben-Adir dominates and stands out among the four. The more interesting portrayal and journey of Aldis Hodge's Jim Brown is both eye-opening and could be the best written. No matter the chaos between the four throughou...
Of the four characters, Kingsley Ben-Adir dominates and stands out among the four. The more interesting portrayal and journey of Aldis Hodge's Jim Brown is both eye-opening and could be the best written. No matter the chaos between the four throughou...
One Night in Miami... (2020)
Fantasy
The genre of speculative fiction involving supernatural or magical elements. These often include complete imaginary realms and creatures. Fantasy's roots lie in literature and drama.
One of my more recent watches. I was impressed with how broad Barbie was and how it's the exact opposite of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (they hit movie theaters at the same time, coining the term Barbenheimer). Greta Gerwig made sure the casting ...
Barbie (2023)
Horror and Halloween
The film genre that tries to elicit physical or psychological fear on viewers. Horror films usually explore dark subjects and may deal with transgressive topics/themes. Broad elements of the genre include monsters, apocalyptic events, and religious/f...
Anyone hearing or seeing this for the first time, it's understandable to have an eyebrow raising reaction. Why would a former U.S. president be a vampire hunter? Take a closer look and the movie is much more fun, deeper and a great critical thinking ...
Timur Bekmambetov's genius, outside-the-box horror changed how many in the U.S. view vampires from last century, especially the mindset of how the pro-slavery confederate states established and economically dominated with a slave labor economy. Bekma...
The vampire offensive into Gettysburg gets this universe's Lincoln to drop the gloves and lead the fight. Throughout the film, we see how the former 16th POTUS deals with double lives, got into the hunting life, and how his politics, debating skills ...
Timur Bekmambetov's genius, outside-the-box horror changed how many in the U.S. view vampires from last century, especially the mindset of how the pro-slavery confederate states established and economically dominated with a slave labor economy. Bekma...
The vampire offensive into Gettysburg gets this universe's Lincoln to drop the gloves and lead the fight. Throughout the film, we see how the former 16th POTUS deals with double lives, got into the hunting life, and how his politics, debating skills ...
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
All of us are familiar with Dracula. From the early days of cinema to current renditions, we know the story of his vampire self. That's what makes Dracula Untold refreshing, fun and tragic; it's about his life as a human before transformation.
Although it had some of my interest back in 2014, watching this film within the last few years became eye-opening. While most of the cast, including Luke Evans' portrayal Vlad III is filled with mostly unknown actors and actresses, all of them excel ...
It helps that certain lore with Dracula is fleshed out and explained well throughout the movie. From how Vlad's relationship with Igor begins to how Transylvania becomes deserted, Dracula Untold cements the famous vampire's status as a top ten villai...
Although it had some of my interest back in 2014, watching this film within the last few years became eye-opening. While most of the cast, including Luke Evans' portrayal Vlad III is filled with mostly unknown actors and actresses, all of them excel ...
It helps that certain lore with Dracula is fleshed out and explained well throughout the movie. From how Vlad's relationship with Igor begins to how Transylvania becomes deserted, Dracula Untold cements the famous vampire's status as a top ten villai...
Dracula Untold
A sensual re-make of the 1920s horror movie, Robert Eggers' Nosferatu is one of the best movies of 2024. The all-star cast includes Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Willem Defoe, and Lily-Rose Depp.
The Hutter couple is enjoyable, fascinating and deeper than many seem to realize as the audience follows them throughout the movie. Count Orlok is a true menace in the re-boot and the true highlight. From his corpse-like look to his death rattle, the...
The Hutter couple is enjoyable, fascinating and deeper than many seem to realize as the audience follows them throughout the movie. Count Orlok is a true menace in the re-boot and the true highlight. From his corpse-like look to his death rattle, the...
Nosferatu (2024)
This is easily the best movie of 2025. Months after its release and people all over the world are still talking about it. Basically two movies in one, a pair of twin brothers go from hosting and throwing a juke joint party to fighting off supernatura... Wunmi Mosaku as Annie and Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim are both the best and most underrated cast members.
Finally, there's not excellent movie without excellent villains. Jack O'Connell's Remmick is close to a top three villain of all-time given the background, story and core themes shown. It's not until the very end when even the most subtle debatable t...
Finally, there's not excellent movie without excellent villains. Jack O'Connell's Remmick is close to a top three villain of all-time given the background, story and core themes shown. It's not until the very end when even the most subtle debatable t...
Sinners (2025)
Jordan Peele's second stand-out film and last major hit before the COVID-19 pandemic is both a scary and thrilling watch. The topic of a tether (or clone) should give every viewer chills. Thus takes us to the movie's main character Adelaide. Adelaide...
Us (2019)
Marvel
The best rated and worthwhile watches from the Marvel cinematic universe
Where the Marvel cinematic universe as we knew it began (no i do not count any of the fluff that started before this because i'm not that old, lol). From the opening scene of the first Blade, to Guillermo del Toro's critically acclaimed second movie,...
The Blade Trilogy (Blade / Blade II / Blade: Trinity)
Romance
A genre characterized by an emphasis on passion, emotion, and affectionate, romantic involvement. Romantic love or the search for it is typically the primary focus.
One of, if not the best movie of 2017. Writer, producer and director Guillermo del Toro delivers in what many consider the best movie of his film career. There have been several romance films that dabble with interspecies romance, but The Shape of Wa...
Sally Hawkins was a legit pick for actress of the year for her portrayal of mute cleaner Elisa Esposito. When the government she works for in 1960s Baltimore, MD., captures a fascinatingly new species found deep in the Amazon, Esposito does what anyo...
Jones is on another level with his realistic look and stunning portrayal of an exotic species stolen from his homeland, looking for safety and learning how to be vulnerable with people taking risks to help him. The romantic bonding between Elisa and ...
Sally Hawkins was a legit pick for actress of the year for her portrayal of mute cleaner Elisa Esposito. When the government she works for in 1960s Baltimore, MD., captures a fascinatingly new species found deep in the Amazon, Esposito does what anyo...
Jones is on another level with his realistic look and stunning portrayal of an exotic species stolen from his homeland, looking for safety and learning how to be vulnerable with people taking risks to help him. The romantic bonding between Elisa and ...
The Shape of Water (2017)
I cannot stand and seriously loathe F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby novel. Not only does it put you to sleep, it sucks in every way possible. The movie though? Oh man. Now that's a treasure. The rough dialogue takes a backseat to Tobey Maguire's n...
Dubbed by Leonardo DiCaprio as the second movie of “America's unofficial trilogy", the Great Gatsby is sensational. Director Baz Luhrmann chose an excellent cast and made Tobey Maguire's Nick Carraway the standout midwesterner Fitzgerald tried hard t...
Dubbed by Leonardo DiCaprio as the second movie of “America's unofficial trilogy", the Great Gatsby is sensational. Director Baz Luhrmann chose an excellent cast and made Tobey Maguire's Nick Carraway the standout midwesterner Fitzgerald tried hard t...
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Science Fiction
A genre that uses speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that aren't fully accepted by science. Examples include extraterrestrial lifeforms, cyborgs, spacecraft, robots, mutants, interstellar travel, time travel and more beyond our human ...
Easily the best live-action Transformers movie ever made, Bumblebee depicts the origins of the young autobot's arrival on Earth, the end of the Cybertronian civil war, and how the autobot faction rallied to find Earth decades before Michael Bay's ori...
Bumblebee (2018)
Have you ever wondered how much of your brain is used throughout life? Could the human body be capable of accessing 100% of the brain? Are we truly stuck at ~20%?
Lucy's brilliance lies in both real life and these questions merging and finding the “fictional answers.” While most will debate the movie's relevance and even how much of the brain we can access, the plot is phenomenal. Morgan Freeman of course is a...
Lucy's brilliance lies in both real life and these questions merging and finding the “fictional answers.” While most will debate the movie's relevance and even how much of the brain we can access, the plot is phenomenal. Morgan Freeman of course is a...
Lucy (2014)
The first of the three Star Wars prequel movies. Taking place in the Galactic Republic era, cracks form to show how the democratic system falls while many actions and famous names emerge. To this day, The Phantom Menace is a work of art that continue...
As a big Star Wars fan, the background on this film is amazing. The initial rough draft was much darker, scarier and more uncensored; from how Obi-Wan was supposed to be and how irrelevant Qui-Gon Jinn would be, to Darth Maul's appearance and the rac...
As a big Star Wars fan, the background on this film is amazing. The initial rough draft was much darker, scarier and more uncensored; from how Obi-Wan was supposed to be and how irrelevant Qui-Gon Jinn would be, to Darth Maul's appearance and the rac...
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
10 years after The Phantom Menace, the Galactic Republic teeters ever closer to collapse. Star systems break away by the dozens, then hundreds. The galaxy is sick and tired of total government corruption while piracy and corporations run amok bankrup...
Attack of the Clones is easily the weakest and worst of the six movies George Lucas wrote, produced and directed. Lucas unfortunately backs himself into a corner where an awkward love story has to quickly develop and festers into toxic possession by ...
Attack of the Clones is easily the weakest and worst of the six movies George Lucas wrote, produced and directed. Lucas unfortunately backs himself into a corner where an awkward love story has to quickly develop and festers into toxic possession by ...
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
One of the greatest and most popular sci-fi movies of the 2000s. The original, live-action Transformers movie from 2007 was a game-changer in CGI, lighting, and action for the massive cyborgs and new fans of the Hasbro franchise. Many consider this t...
I recommend the two disc, special feature edition of this film for several reasons: Michael Bay dives deep into why he chose the autobots, decepticons and human stories for the first film. From the designs to realistic plotline and how the robots cou...
I recommend the two disc, special feature edition of this film for several reasons: Michael Bay dives deep into why he chose the autobots, decepticons and human stories for the first film. From the designs to realistic plotline and how the robots cou...
Transformers (2007)
The then-highly anticipated, second live action Transformers movie is quite the watch. Loud, fascinating, gaudy and action packed, Revenge of the Fallen is one of the few three star movies in here that sticks with audiences almost 20 years later. One...
RoTF has a lot of good times and moments. The decepticons really put the decept in their name. A perfect villain by Tony Todd, a humanoid spy in the form of an attractive woman, and the debut of Soundwave add more muscle to the bad side. While the au...
I recommend the two disc feature like I did the first film. Certain statistics, background information and more education about the production, digital creations and new characters make for great watches. What's fascinating about this movie is how au...
RoTF has a lot of good times and moments. The decepticons really put the decept in their name. A perfect villain by Tony Todd, a humanoid spy in the form of an attractive woman, and the debut of Soundwave add more muscle to the bad side. While the au...
I recommend the two disc feature like I did the first film. Certain statistics, background information and more education about the production, digital creations and new characters make for great watches. What's fascinating about this movie is how au...
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
After serious blowback on Revenge of the Fallen's writing, storyline and subplots, Michael Bay and Ehren Kruger doubled down and released what many consider today as the best live action Transformers movie. The intro is next level excellence as CGI f...
This movie is superb in what the second movie failed to do while keeping the major highlights and re-occuring themes intact. The biggest and most underrated part of the storyline is the human-transformer alliance becoming strained both in the United ...
Dark of the Moon's other themes are those all of us should pay attention to and learn from. The main human character deals with something very common in this era: being relevant and acknowledged by higher powers; from the POTUS to the autobot leader,...
Despite the deeper, intellectual and main plot themes, other gems stand out. The comedy is much better and relatable, especially for adults. Dialogue is much more realistic and fun. There's heightened tensions and passion. Plus guest cameos on how li...
This movie is superb in what the second movie failed to do while keeping the major highlights and re-occuring themes intact. The biggest and most underrated part of the storyline is the human-transformer alliance becoming strained both in the United ...
Dark of the Moon's other themes are those all of us should pay attention to and learn from. The main human character deals with something very common in this era: being relevant and acknowledged by higher powers; from the POTUS to the autobot leader,...
Despite the deeper, intellectual and main plot themes, other gems stand out. The comedy is much better and relatable, especially for adults. Dialogue is much more realistic and fun. There's heightened tensions and passion. Plus guest cameos on how li...
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Two routes stood after Dark of the Moon: would a new trilogy take place or would the live action series end on a high? The former was chosen, leading to all kinds of reactions.
Age of Extinction both starts at the immediate end of Dark of the Moon and accelerates five years into the future. On paper and in public, the broken bonds and alliance between the autobots and humans lead to chilling relations. The autobots are allo...
The Battle of Chicago confirms humanity's distrust and paranoia of the Cybertronian species. National defense, led by the CIA's Harold Attinger (played by Kelsey Grammar) and his loyal death squad Cemetery Wind lead the charge in taking out both fact...
Age of Extinction is a long movie, and many critics to this day still hate it. They cannot stand how both Bay and Ehren Kruger exposed a LOT of the U.S. military industrial complex. This is the lone, live action Transformers movie where the plot is t...
The action is the least impressive of the four films. Thrill and surprise take over instead. Age of Extinction does a good job with juggling the past, current dilemmas and keeping at least three villains that could be considered the Big Bad relevant....
Age of Extinction both starts at the immediate end of Dark of the Moon and accelerates five years into the future. On paper and in public, the broken bonds and alliance between the autobots and humans lead to chilling relations. The autobots are allo...
The Battle of Chicago confirms humanity's distrust and paranoia of the Cybertronian species. National defense, led by the CIA's Harold Attinger (played by Kelsey Grammar) and his loyal death squad Cemetery Wind lead the charge in taking out both fact...
Age of Extinction is a long movie, and many critics to this day still hate it. They cannot stand how both Bay and Ehren Kruger exposed a LOT of the U.S. military industrial complex. This is the lone, live action Transformers movie where the plot is t...
The action is the least impressive of the four films. Thrill and surprise take over instead. Age of Extinction does a good job with juggling the past, current dilemmas and keeping at least three villains that could be considered the Big Bad relevant....
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
The third of George Lucas' sequel trilogy is by far the best, bloodiest and darkest of the three movies. Three years into the Clone Wars and victory for the Republic lays nearby. However, all is not as it seems as the architects of the war finally re...
I've always seen Revenge of the Sith as two movies in one. The first half is the end of the Clone Wars. Victory is nigh for the franchise's heroes, especially the Jedi. The second half is the Republic becoming the infamous Galactic Empire. Hayden Chr...
From countless victories to galactic tragedies, the rise of fascism and fall of democracy, all kinds of love to factionalism and separation, Revenge of the Sith brings the best and worst out of Star Wars. The highlight of the film aren't just the lig...
I've always seen Revenge of the Sith as two movies in one. The first half is the end of the Clone Wars. Victory is nigh for the franchise's heroes, especially the Jedi. The second half is the Republic becoming the infamous Galactic Empire. Hayden Chr...
From countless victories to galactic tragedies, the rise of fascism and fall of democracy, all kinds of love to factionalism and separation, Revenge of the Sith brings the best and worst out of Star Wars. The highlight of the film aren't just the lig...
Watch Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III)
Thriller
A genre of fiction with numerous categories, including crime, horror, and detective fiction. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving their audiences heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation ...
Goodness, what a movie. Based off the 1980s book, American Psycho is unlike any other movie made before. It's truly a unique, American experience given how both the 1980s changed a lot of lives and the complex layers among rich, white men. American P...
From the analogies and layered thinking such as lead character Patrick Bateman isn't a killer, he's just having gay sex with those thought to be murdered, the scenes with Willem Defoe and Christian Bale where their characters could be onto one of thr...
From the analogies and layered thinking such as lead character Patrick Bateman isn't a killer, he's just having gay sex with those thought to be murdered, the scenes with Willem Defoe and Christian Bale where their characters could be onto one of thr...
American Psycho (2000)
If there's any historical movie that should be watched and read in full, Oppenheimer is high on that list. From a young age, Julius Robert Oppenheimer is infatuated with all kinds of sciences. His social pursuits to different forms of socialism take ...
Oppenheimer (2023)
A timeless gem that could only be made in a certain time period. Phone Booth's plot is one like none other: the last public phone booth in New York City's last day is spent as an almost non-stop phone call between a random civilian and a terrorist sn...
Phone Booth (2002)
Western
The film genre defined as films set in the U.S. western states/regions that embody spirit, struggle and demise of new frontiers.
A few of my all-time favorite movies are featured here, and this is easily one of them. One of, if not the best film from Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained has everything: humor, non-fictional history, despotic racism, realism in the cruelties of c...
It is my personal opinion that despite the number of films shown on U.S. chattel slavery, one could arguably watch Django Unchained and never watch another film in the same sub-genre. There's always something new that stands out everytime I watch it.
It is my personal opinion that despite the number of films shown on U.S. chattel slavery, one could arguably watch Django Unchained and never watch another film in the same sub-genre. There's always something new that stands out everytime I watch it.
Django Unchained (2012)
On one hand, No Country For Old Men is a spectacular film. Its serious theme on how much life changes in the American southwest hits like tsunami waves. One sees why it won so many awards in 2008. On the other, this film is drop-dead hilarious with h...
No Country for Old Men (2007)
This one might raise some eyebrows but the 2023 re-make of a past western is a fun, educational and thrilling watch. As Johnny Black goes through most of his life trying to get revenge on the racist outlaw who murdered his father, he comes across sev...
Outlaw Johnny Black (2023)